APPENDIX I:

APPENDIX I:

CRISIS CHAIN OF RESPONSE PROTOCOL INITIATED RESPONSE

EXPLANATION OF LEVELS OF RESPONSE

Level 1 Response:

REQUIRED SKILL LEVEL:

Paraprofessional

Intern/Volunteer

Non-Clinical Staff

Complete Level 1 actions, 

then proceed to

Level 2 Response:

REQUIRED SKILL LEVEL:

Associate Professional

Level 3 Response:

REQUIRED SKILL LEVEL:

Qualified Professional/ 1st Responder

NOTE: ALWAYS FOLLOW CONSUMER’S INDIVIDUALIZED CRISIS PLAN.

SNAPSHOT VIEW OF GUIDELINES

Non-clinical staff/Interns/Volunteers –

▪ Assess immediate danger/risks by identifying caller, nature of call, location of caller, 

and callback #. Report to QP or 1st responder and document.

Paraprofessional –

▪ Assess immediate danger, document, and report to team AP/QP and 1st responder

Associate Professional –

▪ Assess, report, respond to help QP with resolution. **Secondary follow-up only after QP performs initial follow-up after face-to-face emergencies.

Qualified Professional / First Responder–

▪ Assess, evaluate, respond, including arrangement of emergency transportation, 

document, follow-up.

Additional Note: Documentation may need to be as frequent as every 15 minutes depending on nature of emergency and required response. Staff may need to contact police or other 

emergency services while on the line with the caller. Be prepared.

We recognize that occasionally you may have therapeutic needs that arise after office hours. In the event that you experience a behavioral health crisis, please dial Number to reach our First Responder via the after-hours crisis/oncall system. Be sure to provide the operator with your name, the phone number that you’re calling from, the name of the service that The Ship Group Community Services is providing, and the nature of your call. If the operator is unable to patch your call directly to the on-call First Responder, then please allow 10 minutes for the on-call staff to return your call. If you have not received a response within 10 minutes, dial Number again and instruct the operator that you have not yet received a response. There is back-up staff designated to assist you through your crisis in the event that the First Responder cannot respond immediately. Please keep in mind that this procedure is put in place to best serve your needs in the event of a crisis, therefore, if you have needs that are not a true crisis, please call us during office hours Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Please keep in mind that in the event of a medical emergency or an event that may be life threatening, call 911. 

In order to ensure proper response delivery in the event of a crisis, it is of vital importance to identify what truly 

negates a crisis situation. While it is necessary to act immediately in the event of a crisis, it is equally important to 

initiate crisis response only in the event of a true “crisis”. “Crises” related The Ship Group Community Services 

service delivery systems include, but are not limited to the following:

▪ Consumer is at risk of harm to himself or others

▪ Consumer is having severe, disorganized train of thought

▪ Consumer is “missing”

▪ Consumer is experiencing a state of mental and/or behavioral instability that the caregiver cannot 

de- escalate